Venus Cafe

Wah!
Mr. & Mrs. Kim retired!
We will miss them every morning!

Mr. and Mrs. Kim will totally rock your world!
The sweetest people serve the sweetest dishes!
OMG!
I had a pancake stack, four eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, toast, coffee, milk… sweet people make me hungry for good food!
Yummmmmmy!
ps…this place is right next to the greatest Thai food EVER!

We found this place on a whim and boy am I glad we did. And we keep coming back because of how good it turned out to be.
On our first visit, I had a mocha with a blueberry muffin, plain croissant, and a cheese with egg bagel. My boyfriend had a hot dog and a chocolate chocolate chunk muffin. The cooked food was okay (the egg cheese bagel and hot dog), actually a little disappointing and really they should just take that stuff off the menu and focus on what they are good at.
BUT the muffins were soooo good! I have never had muffins that were so good. I normally don’t like chocolate muffins but even the chocolate muffin I thought was amazing! The croissant was unusual (not super flaky like traditional ones) but supremely buttery and delicious nonetheless. They were closing when we were there and the cute older man handed us a goody box filled with muffins from the day that didn’t sell including a banana walnut muffin which was also amazing. The mocha was also something surprisingly delicious. And the next time I came back I got that again as well (croissants dipped in this delicious concoction are superb).
Come early to get warm muffins and croissants. Can’t get enough!

Extremely good croissants. Good honest food, at reasonable prices.
The décor does seem like you’re in an 80s time warp, however this is art of this place’s charm.
Very friendly couple that own this place. Rumour has it they haven’t taken a day off since they opened up shop.

The latte was ok, and the food was good. It’s not my super favorite breakfast place, but, its good for what it is. I’d eat there again if a friend of mine asked to eat there, but, its not my first choice. I suppose I’ve been a little spoiled by a certain little place in Menlo Park…
Now, if it werent for the ok latte and good food, honestly, I’d give it a higher scoring because the owner was so darn friendly! But, it advertises lattes and they are just so-​so. If you’re going for an easy atmosphere and nice staff, its a good place to be. No high expectations, no super snobbo atmosphere — its a laid back diner sort of place.
I just happened to be looking for that perfect latte this morning before our movie.
I hate giving this place 3 stars when the owner was so NICE! But, the lattes need a step up for a higher score in my book ;-)

This is a crummy location and the outside is a little dilapidated but Hubster was convinced they would have good breakfast so I gave it a chance.
Greeted by a really friendly energetic guy, sounds like he’s the owner from other reviews. Got our pick of tiny blue tables in the tiny «restaurant» which is pretty definitely a converted donut shop. Automatic star for having breakfast sammiches of egg, cheese and bacon!
Impeccable service, the guy never stopped smiling (a little scary at times) and he was even super courteous to a group of surly teens that came in for coffee. My sammich was made with American cheese so the texture of the whole thing was a little off but it was still pretty tasty. My hot chocolate, though prettily presented, was lacking. I know it came out of a machine but usually those taste good, this one was just off. I think Hubster got a veggie omelet which I seem to remember him saying was good but kind of boring.
I’m seeing all sorts of good things being said about their croissants. Might have to come back and give ‘em a whirl.

I’m 650 miles away and I’m CRAVING the cream cheese croissants.
Venus café became our regular breakfast joint, and although the varieties/​options are somewhat limited, it is extremely dependable. Mr. Kim is the owner & he never misses a day at work. He’s extremely charming & makes you want to keep going back. Well, in addition to the great food. :)

This place brings back memories of my high school days at Sequoia HS. I remember walking here every morning after my dad dropped me off to grab a hot chocolate with whipped cream and at lunch walking here really fast because it would get packed.
I always ordered a corn dog and fries which was freshly made
(I mean it wasn’t store bought foster farms corn dogs)
We are talking batter dipped and fried once you order.
I have since moved to Sunnyvale but I was really in the mood to have a hot chocolate so I made the stop in Redwood City on my way to work and it was so cute they remembered me. We chatted for a little bit and I had to run or I would be late for work.
The hot chocolate was just like I remembered, not too sweet with just enough whipped cream, it was hot so I give it time to cool and I even picked up a croissant. It was soft and flaky.
This place is just one of the best places to eat in Redwood City.

This place has super yummy homemade muffins! They usually sell out of the muffins by about 10 in the morning. The owners are so nice and and friendly and even wave to me on the days when I’m running pass the café to catch the Caltrain! It’s places like this that help give the downtown a nice vibe.

Satuday morning my sweetie KathyKat and I went for a walk from her house and wound up at Venus Café. I had never eaten anywhere in Redwood City and KathyKat hadn’t tried it, so we decided to check it out.
It was nearly deserted, although a couple of people came in while we were there, and a large party came in just as we were leaving. There were only a couple of muffins in the display case… I gather the muffins are their «claim to fame» and were all sold out well before lunch time.
I ended up ordering the oat bran sweetcakes and KathyKat ordered the french toast. I had coffee, and Kathy had hot tea. The service was *exemplary* — the owner was super friendly and super attentive. The food was great and very reasonably priced. Highly recommended.
Next time I’ll try the muffins.

They should rename this place Venus Muffins (cute name, isn’t it?), so that it’s more obvious to passer-​bys that they bake their own muffins. They say that their muffins are «mixed and baked in our oven without using oil or butter.» Sixteen varieties of muffins (including blueberry bran, chocolate Tollhouse, cranberry oat bran, banana nut) are offered ($ 1.35 each).
I had the double chocolate muffin which was moist and quite chocolaty — in other words, delicious. These are regular size muffins, not the extra large monster ones that I sometimes see. Venus also bakes their own croissants and fruit strips. I’d love it if they baked cupcakes too (since no one in downtown Redwood City has cupcakes, unless you count Whole Foods and Safeway), though it doesn’t look like a frilly, pretty girly cupcake place.
You’ll find omelets, pancakes, French toast, sandwiches, salads, soups, burgers, hot dogs, and ice cream shakes/​floats on the menu. The menu items sound pretty traditional and basic. You can get a «cold» sandwich for $ 5.50 and that comes with macaroni or potato salad.
When you step inside, you’re reminded of old Redwood City. The place looks like an old-​fashioned, no frills diner (even cuter, it’s run by an Asian couple) and seems to have some regulars (old-​timers who look like they’re part of old RWC as well). Cash only.

Mr. and Mrs. Kim run a splendid breakfast joint (even the folks from Peet’s down the street come here for their breakfast!), doing all their baking from muffins to Real croissants on the premesis. Nod to the regulars, notice how if you have a Usual faavorite thing, they’ll ask if that’s what you want this time – although their menu is varied and worth perusing.

The couple that runs this place is a super-​cute middle-​aged couple of unknown Asian descent. They run their operation with love, and treat their customers accordingly.
They bake up their own fresh muffins and such on the spot. We go in on weekends sometimes with the boys and get diner-​style breakfasts: eggs, toast, coffee, bacon, sausage.
Good quality comfort-​food breakfast with a down-​home aesthetic.